Misfolded protein entanglement (IMAGE)
Caption
New research led by Penn State scientists has shown that proteins that contain a type of entanglement in their native structures are more likely to misfold, yet many of the misfolded proteins evade the cellular quality-control system. The proteins can misfold (bottom left, with misfolded regions in blue and red) in a way that closely resembles the native structure of the protein (top left, green). When this happens the misfolded protein might not be repaired by cellular maintenance crews (shown in grey) or tagged (yellow) for removal by the protein degradation system (blue). The misfolded proteins that persist in the cell could disrupt protein homeostasis and potentially contribute to aging and disease.
Credit
Yang Jiang, Penn State
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License
CC BY-NC-ND